PANews, August 12 - In July, consumer prices in the United States rose moderately. However, due to import tariffs increasing the cost of goods, a measure of core inflation recorded its largest increase in six months. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% month-on-month in July, in line with expectations, down from 0.3% in June, and increased 2.7% year-on-year, also below expectations, holding steady with June’s 2.7%. The core CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month, the largest increase since January, and increased 3.1% year-on-year, up from 2.9% in June. As the CPI report was released, concerns about the quality of inflation and employment reports were growing. Previously, budget and staffing cuts by the U.S. government led to the suspension of data collection for some CPI basket items in several regions of the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics completely suspended CPI data collection in one city in Nebraska, as well as in Utah and New York, citing the need to 'match the workload of surveys with resource levels.' Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also suspended data collection for an average of 15% of samples in 72 other regions. This led to a temporary reduction in the price data and rental data used to calculate the CPI, resulting in the Bureau of Labor Statistics using estimates to fill in the missing information.